AKEL has remained a powerful force

 

The elections for the 7th President of the Republic of
Cyprus, which took place on the 17th and 24th February
2013, ended with the victory of the President of the rightwing
DISY party Mr. Anastasiades. The election of Mr. Anastasiades,
who was supported by the main party of the ruling
class and the centre-right of Cyprus (DISY, DIKO and
EVROKO), signals substantial changes in the approach to
the Cyprus problem, socio-economic issues and the international
relations of the Republic of Cyprus.
The independent candidate , and former Minister of Health Dr.
Stavros Malas, supported by AKEL and some small political movements,
received 27% in the first round and 42.5% of the vote in the
second round. It should be pointed out that although the leadership
of the socialdemocratic EDEK party, whose candidate did not pass
into the second round, called on its voters not to support anyone
of the two candidates, nonetheless a significant section of them
joined forces with us.
In relation to the Cyprus problem, both AKEL and Stavros Malas,
highlighted the need to persist in the efforts, so that Greek Cypriots
and
T u r k i s h
Cypriots agree to a solution based on the resolutions of the UN
and the principles of International Law; a solution that will evolve
the Republic of Cyprus into a strong federation, as the two communities
have committed themselves towards the international
community for 35 years. We strongly rejected both Mr. Anastasiades’
dangerous idea for a “loose federation” which will be the cloak
of confederation and partition, as well as the maximalist positions
calling for the abandonment of a federal solution and the resumption
of talks from “scratch”. At the same time we insisted on the position
that the solution of the Cyprus problem must provide for the
termination of the foreign guarantees and for the demilitarisation
of Cyprus. Unlike all the other parties and candidates, only AKEL
and Stavros Malas opposed both the submitting of an application
to join the so-called “Partnership for Peace”, as well as the possibility
of Cyprus joining NATO.
Regarding socio-economic policy, Stavros Malas put forth progressive
positions for innovative changes in the Cyprus economy that
would utilise research and innovativeness, with the scientific ex-

ploitation of the natural gas reserves to the benefit of the people,
and proposals to curb unemployment. Particular emphasis was
given to the problems affecting young people and women with relevant
separate programmatic positions submitted. AKEL and
Stavros Malas also opposed the positions of the other candidates
for the conversion of public utility companies into shareholding
ones with no state control and the privatisation of the three semistate
organisations (ports, electricity and telecommunications), as
well as opposing the neoliberal positions of the Right (e.g. the imposition
of fees in the public universities).
Despite the unprecedented and relentless attack by the entire mass
media, but also through the foreign interventions in support of the
candidate of the DISY party, who was considered and is in fact
more open to the Troika’s demands, the candidate supported by
AKEL registered positive results under the circumstances. The attempts
of the ruling and conservative
forces to blame AKEL and the outgoing
Christofias government for the
consequences of the capitalist crisis as
they were manifested in Cyprus (the
need for the recapitalisation of banks
and the recourse to the Stability
Mechanism) and subsequently to shift
these “responsibilities” on Stavros
Malas were evident. The operation to weaken and discredit AKEL
did not achieve its objective. AKEL has remained a powerful force.
Firstly, AKEL is already conducting an assessment of the preelection
work and election result in a critical and self-critical
spirit. A discussion will take place on AKEL’s stand towards the
government and its relations with the parties. Secondly, an
evaluation will be made of the rich work carried out by the
Christofias government, but also of the mistakes, omissions
and shortcomings so that we can draw lessons. Thirdly, AKEL
with the setting up of a specialised
committee on the economy will
elaborate specific proposals to
tackle the consequences of the
crisis.